Sonia writes to Modi on Dalit atrocities

A day before Rahul Gandhi’s pro-Dalit rally in Madhya Pradesh, Congress p­resident Sonia Gandhi on Monday shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the “distressing rise” in dalit atrocities in the BJP-ruled states of Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

Sonia demanded that a bill to prevent such crimes be brought in the monsoon session of Parliament next month.

Referring to the incidents of dalit atrocities in Rajasthan and Maharashtra, the Congress chief alleged that the NDA government had “allowed” an Ordinance, brought by the UPA, to lapse and slammed it for not bringing a bill to replace it in the last budget session of parliament.

“…the UPA-2 government brought in the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Ordinance 2014, which among other things sought to strengthen the implementation of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989,” Sonia said. She said it was a matter of great disappointment that the NDA government allowed the Ordinance to lapse by sending it to the standing committee.

“Even though the standing committee submitted its report in December 2014, the government did not bring it to Parliament for passage in the budget session,” she said, asking Modi to bring the bill for passage in the monsoon session.

Sonia’s letter to the prime minister comes a day before Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi visits dalit icon B R Ambedkar’s birthplace Mhow in Madhya Pradesh to launch the year-long 125th birth anniversary celebrations of one of the architects of the Constitution.